Identify signatures
A woven signature can double a rug's value. It can also be a forgery. This page shows where signatures sit, in which script they typically appear, what they reveal, and how to tell genuine from faked.
#Where signatures sit
The most common position is a small rectangular cartouche at one of the upper or lower border edges, usually 5 to 15 centimetres above the start or below the end of the pile. The cartouche is generally 8 to 20 centimetres wide and 3 to 8 centimetres tall.
Some workshops place the signature on the right or left border edge, in a similarly small cartouche. Others place it in the middle of the main field, often in a space deliberately left for it.
The script is woven into the pile, that is, part of the knotting itself, not sewn or printed on. That is the simplest authenticity check: separate the pile at the signature. The script must consist of the knots themselves, in a contrasting wool. If the signature is painted or sewn on, it was added afterwards and is therefore suspect.
#Which script is used
Persian workshops weave their signatures mostly in Nastaliq or Naskh, both classical Arabic-Persian calligraphic scripts. Nastaliq is more flowing and harder to read, Naskh is clearer and more block-like. Both are not readable for non-Persian speakers without help.
Turkish workshops have woven their signatures in Latin script since the 1928 alphabet reform, with the Turkish special characters (ö, ü, ç, ş, ğ). Hereke pieces from this period often carry the Latin mark.
Older Turkish pieces from the Ottoman period show Arabic-Ottoman script, which resembles Persian.
Caucasian, Turkmen, and North African pieces typically have no signature. When they do, it is usually a tribal mark in a tribe-specific iconography, not an alphabetic script.
#What signatures reveal
A complete workshop cartouche typically contains three to five pieces of information.
Family or workshop name. Habibian, Seyrafian, Davari, Salahi, Memarian. Each workshop has a characteristic spelling.
Production location. Nain, Isfahan, Qum, Tabriz, sometimes including the district.
Production year. In the Iranian solar calendar. 1402 = 2023 in our calendar. Conversion: solar year + 621 or 622 (depending on the day in the Persian year).
Work number. A serial number from the workshop, sometimes counted across multiple years.
Calligrapher or designer. For top pieces the designer of the master pattern is occasionally named, separately from the weaver.
Not every signature contains all fields. A short signature with only the family name and place is common.
#Genuine and forged signatures
Workshop signatures are forged because they raise the value significantly. Three checks distinguish genuine from forged.
Knot consistency. The knots in the signature must be identical to the surrounding border knots. If the signature knots look different (differently dyed yarn, different knot direction, different size), the signature was added afterwards.
Flow of the border framing. A genuine signature cartouche is part of the border composition. It sits in a harmonious position aligned with the border rhythm. A forged signature often disrupts the rhythm.
Consistency with the workshop style. If a rug shows the stylistic features of a Hamadan but bears a Habibian signature, something is off. Habibian only produces Nain. The signature must match the knotting quality, wool quality, and design language.
When in doubt: send a photograph of the signature to a specialist or auction house. An experienced eye spots a forged signature in minutes.